In the Treasurys forged ahead in what is being defined as a technical rally, as investors climbed onto the buy bandwagon when key levels were easily breached. The 30-year Treasury rose 22/32, to yield
TYX, +1.62%
5.479 percent.

Merck (MRK)
MRK, +2.06%
rose 1 5/8 to 85 7/8 after the Food and Drug Admininstration okayed its Mevacor drug for new applications. See full story.

Union Carbide (UK)
uk
said gains from its specialties and intermediates business segment and diminished losses from the basic chemicals and polymers business segment should bring the company's first quarter earnings from operations to within a few cents of the highest published analyst estimate. According to a First Call Corp. survey, the highest analyst estimate is 47 cents. The stock put on 1/2 to 44.

Citigroup (C)
C, -0.93%
eased 1 7/16 to 64 1/2. The Dow component said its board of directors okayed a stock buyback of as much as $2 billion of its shares.

Solectron (SLR)
SLR, +3.26%
eased 1 3/16 to 44 13/16. The provider of contract manufacturing services to the electronics industry logged fiscal second-quarter net of 26 cents a share, in line with the First Call Corp. survey of analysts' estimates.

Medical products maker Biomet (BMET)
BMET, +0.00%
rose 1 3/4 to 41 15/16. It netted 33 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter. Warburg Dillon Read repeated its "buy" opinion on the stock. It sees the shares rising to $48. As well, Hambrecht & Quist raised its rating to "buy" from "hold."

Laser Vision Centers (LVCI)
lvci
moved ahead 4 3/16 to 35 3/16 on news that February same-store sales leaped 40 percent over the year-ago period. Same-store sales refer to sales at outlets open a year or more and are a truer gauge of a retailer's performance than total sales. The company provides services for the treatment of refractive vision disorders.

COMMODITIES

New York light sweet crude for May delivery advanced 4 cents to $14.54.

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